Jeff said he'd work on an Off Topic Corral

[Hobbyfarmer]

 Darn cold out on the picket line   -2 this morning

By the way BA: I have looked at the hog section and have been eyeing it for sometime. Wasn't sure dealing with Gough would be any better than Jim 😉

Pictures I took this morning ...

Gavilon Grain, Creston Ia. , their covered pile a little short of 2 million bu. Notice the corn dryer blazing away ...it is Feb 26th.

Same place different angle, notice they are getting the uncovered pile in the foreground down to a pie shape.  There is a semi being loaded as I shot this picture.

The square concrete building and gas pumps to the right of the picture are part of the

Afton Coop. The building is a large feed mill. Poultry, and hog feed proscessed there. Notice All of the facilities are in operation.

The far silo's and the new square concrete building is a CHS soybean crush facility. The crush end of the facility has been in operation for 12/15 years or so. The sq building and other support buildings and yet to be installed equip  is going to be a soy flour addition to the crush. 

another view of the CHS soy crush facilities.

Here is yet the next side of the area... the railroad side. The near train is a unit train of nothing but double stacked shipping containers east bound.

The  train behind that is a unit train of coal also east bound.

The majority of grain gathered up here at the Gavilon complex area is still shipped out on rail in unit trains. It is nice to know some of it is proscessed here and value is added and people have jobs.

At one time this was all part of the Crestland coop. They went bankrupt.

Nice to see that near pile of corn about gone, started out in the million and 1/2 range.

Also encouraging to know 100 miles east of here there is a corn sweetner plant burning through hundreds of semi loads a day. 40 miles north of here is a ethonal plant grinding and another one 30 miles west of here doing the same thing.

EDIT: the marketing of grain here is in the  9 figure range between the three. What you can't see here is that the main coop grain facility that helps feed the mill plus another feed mill is a few blocks down the street and then there is the Gavilon grain facilities "down town" at the original facilities.

I have never asked the head Fred at Gavilon how many unit trains leave here...it is a bunch.

This grain explosion has all happened in the last 30 years here.

[lsc76cat]

Thanks for the pics and info Hobby.  Good to see that CHS plant expanding.  More value added processing here the better!!

Be interesting to see of they keep sending oil up to Mankato for refining.

[ECIN]

Well Hobby - Glad to see - after being on Strike that you haven't lost your OFF TOPIC touch - Lets see here - The Tread says -- Jeff said he'd work on an Off Topic Corral BUT -- BUT  let me say BUT ONE more time , all that was in your tread was some dam old elevator out in - Well I had better say that place on here - but I will say the first word started with Bum     THEN all you posted was some old musty corn pile and DID not say one thing about the OK Coral ! with a head shake here -

BTW I checked my e-mail before posting this up and there was nothing from Jeff asking me about a Off Topic Coral - OR are you just kidding here ??

Well ole buddy - good to see you posting on here again - even if it off topic- lmao

Double BTW - I was just wondering here , after knowing you for several years now - the post you put up the other night - Was you haveing a bad day ?? - Just saying after that rant , I would say you slep like a baby -

[Illowahillfarms]

Here in Fulton Illinois we are on the Mississippi river. Like you said 30 years ago Agri grain would unload 100 cars a day from western Iowa and Nebraska and send it down the river.  Fast forward,haven't unloaded any trains,built 3 rail stations within 25-50 miles of me and 3 ethanol plants also.Not counting ADM in Clinton Iowa.All used here in the good old USA.

[Hobbyfarmer]

ECIN: just sucks being so far away from the loop huh?

Being so cold around here I imagine you will get the memo about July 5th (right after the frost goes out around here) Frozen emails will be showing up months late.

NOW this IS the Marketing thread. BEANS are up almost another dime, that's 10 penney's for the hillbilly crowd. Even at the not best place that makes them $13.50 cash.

I think since they are the ones I don't care about as much as corn that is why they are doing that. Was it Slim that said his local big coop didn't have 10,000 bu of beans on premises? Might have been the other site I'm on more than here. (the one that likes "off topic") If that is the case they need to make me an offer I couldn't refuse, they could multiply their holdings.

Corn is the one I wanted to rally. That first pile is right on schedule to be removed before the spring rains. With the lack of moisture down here this winter it looks from the street to be in very good condition compaired to many other years. That second one usually goes away in the summer. Not sure if they are drying their pile some more or if it is incoming farmers corn that is getting warmed up.

Not going to get any early field work done this year.

[ECIN]

ECIN: just sucks being so far away from the loop huh?

Out of the loop Hobby ?  Heck I'm not even in the park any more - lol 

Sence this is marketing - to me the pictures are reversed - you guys had a dryer year and we had pretty good corn - yet you have piles and we don't - what gives ? lol